1983 No. 1 Hit, Originally Written for a Classic Comedy Movie, Became a Timeless Love Anthem
By the early '80s, Stephen Bishop was already an acclaimed singer-songwriter: He'd written for Art Garfunkel, had a top 10 hit with his own song, "On and On," and contributed songs to the hit movie Animal House.
So when the producers for another epic '80s comedy movie, Tootsie, came calling, Bishop wasn't too surprised. But this time, Bishop didn't need to do any writing...all he needed to do was sing the ballad "It Might Be You."
"It was an assignment," Bishop told Songfacts in 2018. "I'd been around for a while. The producers knew what I sounded like and they paid me quite a lot of money to do it. I remember they had me watch about four hours of the unedited movie, mostly with Kenny Loggins' music as a temp."
Esteemed songwriting couple Alan and Marilyn Bergman (known for hits like "The Way We Were" and "You Don't Bring Me Flowers") penned "It Might Be You," a sweet, romantic song about falling in love with the right person:
Looking back as lovers go walking past
All of my life
Wondering how they met
And what makes it last
If I found the place
Would I recognise the face
Something's telling me it might be you
Yeah, it's telling me it might be you
The song provided a perfect complement to the classic comedy, as Jim Beviglia wrote for American Songwriter:
"Tootsie stood out at the time for the cross-dressing plot and its wisecracking humor. But the Bergmans managed to uncover something bittersweet about the movie in their lyrics to 'It Might Be You.' They focused on Dustin Hoffman's character's attempts to change his life and his outlook, which leave him vulnerable to heartbreak."
'It Might Be You' was an enormous hit in the Philippines
Not only was "It Might Be You" a big success in the U.S. - where it peaked at #25 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went all the way to #1 on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart in 1983 - but the song was something of a pop culture phenomenon in the Philippines.
"It's just revered over there," Bishop said. "Everybody knows the song, young and old. And everybody knows me. I've played there 11 times. It's really a fascinating place. I'm not sure when they caught on to the song, but by the '90s it was pretty well known. I get a lot of attention when I go there."
"It Might Be You" was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, though it lost to "Up Where We Belong" from An Officer And A Gentleman.
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This story was originally published May 26, 2026 at 8:47 PM.